Glue Ear & Children

What are the chances that your child is suffering from hearing loss without you knowing it?

Glue ear is a condition where the middle ear fills with glue-like fluid instead of air, often seen in children under 4 years old. It also occurs as chronic otitis media with effusion, or middle ear effusion.

Glue […]

What are the chances that your child is suffering from hearing loss without you knowing it?

Glue ear is a condition where the middle ear fills with glue-like fluid instead of air, often seen in children under 4 years old. It also occurs as chronic otitis media with effusion, or middle ear effusion.

Glue ear causes a hearing loss of an average of 20 dB (decibels are a measure of the intensity of sound).For your reference, a whisper clocks in at 30 dB, while a normal conversation is around 60 dB. Beyond 90 dB, prolonged exposure can cause hearing loss. After 125 dB, you feel pain.

This condition causes normal speech to sound like a whisper. When children grow, the probability of glue ear decreases. However adults also suffer from otitis media and ear infections.

When the infection happens, the back of the tympanum (the ear drum) is filled with a thick, sticky fluid that causes obstruction in the middle ear, and sometimes pressure on the ear drum that causes pain. This sticky fluid looks like glue, hence the name ‘glue ear’. The movement of the ear bones is minimized because of the viscous liquid. This leads to problems hearing.

If glue ear is not given proper treatment, it will hamper a child’s behavior and delay their educational progress simply because they cannot hear the word correctly and hence would interpret and imitate it badly.

How the infection causes difficulties with hearing.

When an ear infection is present, the Eustachian tube swells. This swelling blocks the drainage of the middle ear. As a result, it is proper airflow from the tube in his nose. If this happens, the middle ear builds up pressure that leads to the formation of a dense liquid and paste-like. This fluid fills the middle ear, leading to a partial deafness in children.

People suffering from glue ear are not completely deaf. Detection of deafness in young children is not easy, because they are not able to speak properly. Opening up the tube to allow air flow would reduce the middle ear infections.

How to tell if your child is suffering from ‘glue ear’

Children suffering from glue ear cannot pay attention to others. Often, they may under-perform in school. They tend to watch TV with the volume higher than is normal.
In the case of children, there is a delay to be with the speech. The initial stages of glue ear pain be relieved.

If not discovered in time, glue ear can lead to a deterioration of hearing.

Treatment

Glue ear may be treated by:

Waiting and medication – As anticlimactic as this sounds, most children grow out if it in time. This may be coupled with antibiotics or painkillers like Calpol®. A potential downside is the buildup of antibiotic immunity.

Myringotomy – A surgical procedure in which a tiny incision is created in the eardrum, so as to allow for drainage or ventilation of the middle ear. Myringotomy may also be done to insert tympanostomy tubes, also known as grommets or ear tubes. The tube remains in the ear and provide ventilation and drainage over many days. It falls by itself once the eardrum closes.

Note: When the child has glue ear, make sure the water does not force his eardrum. The child must be ear plugs or cotton coated with Vaseline to prevent water in the inner ear.

The EarDoc is an efficient & proven, non-invasive device that reduces the ear pain by treating the problem rather than the symptom. The Eardoc significantly reduces the need for ear tube surgery (Myringotomy) by naturally opening the closed ear tube and drying the trapped fluids.